The Scooter Book: Everything you need to know about owning, enjoying and maintaining your scooter

162 Pages·2004·51.43 MB·English

by  Alan Seeley

Alan Seeley
C Alan Seeley 2004
Alan Seeley has assened nis right to be Identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or med"lanical, including
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without permission in writing from the publisher
First pubbshed in September 2004
British Library cataloguing-in-publication data·
A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library.
Published by Haynes Publishing,
Sparkford, Yeovit Some~t BA22 7JJ, UK
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Int. tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: 'NV'IW.haynes.co.uk
ISBN 1 844250954
Library of Congress cata og card number 2004104457
Haynes North America Inc.
861 lawrence Drive, Newbury Park, California 91320, USA
Designed by Simon Larkin
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
J. H. Haynes & Co Ltd
th e ~
Everythj ng you need to know
about owning, enJoYing and
maintaining your scooter
Alan Seeley

W h i c h
scooter?
Scootering's recent ~pularity If you were tOld you coula slash yOl,''-cornmu1lng
explosion is more than a mere t mes and transport bills, do your OWII ::;1) IdII IJdII
for the environment and park up eas Iy when you
renaissance. Everyone from the reached your desbnatl()l1, you'd be pretty
interested, if a little SCBpIl:;aL
thrill-seeking teenager to the But all at the above IS true. A scooter can cut
car commuting ti'l)e by two-thirds or more, and
jaded commuter is realising the
eight can be parked in the space required by
freedom and independence that one car, usua,1y for free. The v'mo~e experionce is
also rather more enJOyaba Iran having your
the two-wheeled world's most
personal space invaded by strangers on a
practical machines have to offer. crowded train or your blood pressure pushed sky
high in traffic jams.
Choked commuter routes, crowded publk;
transport land delays) and congestion charges -
a reality in some lol,vrls already - are sending City
types to the scooter showrooms In droves. Many
commuters are finding that they can cover a
week's travel for little more than the cost of a
couple of days' congestion charge, and certainty
for far less than the cost of a train or bus season
ticket.
The sCCXJ\er was born out of necessity in a
posl-Worlj War Tvvo Itaty desperate for cheap
Peugeot Lndix basic transport at a low pnce
transport. But the reliability and performance of
modem mach nes have laid to rest the reputaton
of the oily putt-putts of old. Nowadays, 100mph
performance is attainable on large super
scooters. At the other em of the spectrum even
a cheap restricted 50cc fr~one of the many
factories i, China or Korea will beat most cars or
public transport across town.
Ease d riding is another key attraction of the
scooter. With few excepllons tOOPlY's sr.ontPffi !'IrA
automatic - no manual clutches or gearshifts to
worry aocut. Anyone 'Nho is hatfiNay competent
on a push bike can ride a scooter - the brake
levers are even in the same place. Twist and go'
they call it and that's exact~ 'Nhat you do. A twist
-
of the right handlebar-mounted throttle grip and
you·re off. Some scooter manufacturers have
Gilera Runner available in a vanety of capac/lies
even been thoughtful enough to link the brakes
so you don't use too much of one or the other.
And did we mentlOO fun? W'here once
teenagers saw scooters and mopeds as
something they had to endure until they were old
enough and affluent enough to dnve a car: tOOay's
::;lyli::;11 ::;~ts scooters all3 fashion icons in their
own I1Qht lhere's no shortage of teenagers
tearing u(: the tarmac on scooters long alter
they're old enough to be tearing around in hopped
up hatchbacks with bellowing exhaust pipes.
A new generation of young people has
discoverEd the pleasures of riding everyvvhere
nat·out at 30mph - on a 50cc - or quite a bit
more once the magic of derestriction has been
worked and the joys of aftermarket performance Piaggio Uberty available in a variety of cap<JClt/es on a fetro top
parts expor8<j, They used to say that scooters
were little better than a bus pass - not nowadays,
In between the extremes of the time-strapped
executive and the teenager going no'Nhere fast
and loving every minute of it. lies a whole world of
scootering. Its universal appeal can be seen in
the sheer diversity of scooter riders: the busy
student heading for her lecture; the shift worker
for whom the scooter·s convenience is Vif1thout
parallel; the elderty gent plotting a leisure~ route
from A to B; the proud customlser on a gleaming
statemen~ of his individuality. Scootenng moves
the world
This book Will help you choose the right
scooter for you, get you on the road in the right
8C1uiprnent and help you get the most from your
scooter. Freedom is pages away.
Yameha Majesty go large With a superscoot. again in various capacllics
WhICh 5COOter? 9
a scooter
B
Having decided that scootering is many cases Ire price listed, and no more, ~ what
you pay to get a machine CfI the road, This is
for you, the next task is to choose espeoDl1y truo of fTICl{';t European scooter
manufacturers, But some other makes ailoW
one to suit your needs, experience,
dealers to set separate charges for the pre-delivery
budget and driving licence. IIlspectlon, licence/number pk3tes, road tax duty,
delrvef)l, and even the fuel aOO oil the machine is
Deperding on where in tre world you I va, there suppled With. And Vvtlile trey might not charge for
may be certan laws dictating t-roo dd you have to the 8lr !fl the tyres, they CClJld lheo"etcal~ ctlarge
be to nde a scooter on the road and the type of lor the hme it takes the lTlEChanic 10 pump them
traf1ng and Iceree Y"vU need. Au trO€ there may up. So get all ~ costs ard charges lad 0\..1 in
be fl.rther restriCtOl"'S en the SiZE of scooter you black and whit9'-i.)efore a:xnmil1ing 10 the deal. .A.rd
CW1 nde and the arrount of p:::>'v'P-I' it makes remember thai everything IS negotiable,
depending on yo;..r age and ~. See pages A funner consideralon is parts back up, born in
36-40 lor the rules in YOI$ country. No matter whiCn terms of price and avallabl ty. Mosl consumables
class of scooter you opt for. !here is a bewiIcIeong are generic lIems ard, thErefore, widely avallable
a'T8Y of dmices. So before you sign on the do:ted bJlOO, t'yTeS, brake pads a'd tile like, A tJJogel
line, here are some Important issues to CCOSider scooter from a COlIltry likE Taiwan or Korea may be
The high cJernan1 for scooters IS g:xxI news for cheap \0 buy inltla.lry, but \l'Jhat happens .../ hen pans
p<ospect va b.JyerS. Dealers 'hill often diSCOlJ(lt to wear out or txxtyvvak sus:ains damage? The
clinc.:n a sae. Even v..t\ere the r13f'Ufacturer <Y componems may rot be expensive, oot they may
'T'pcrter forbids dlSCOJnting. C8llny deaers may have to go OnlO a back order. whiCh coukj keep
offer oth"€ Ircentrves. such as free or discounted you off me road for weeKS, So quiz ltle dealer
clothing, accessories. finance. training and aboJt parts back up, and price up some typical
insurance. In son,e cases mamJaclurers get in on Items f<Y lhe sake 01 comparison.
In some coontries there are alternatwes to
the act 100, with finance jea!s, discounted
t:uy ng 'official' machlnos f-om manufacturer
Insurance and free breakdoW'll r3COvery,
But be wary of 0'1 the rood (OTR) ct1arges, In app:)ll1ted dealers, 'Parallel' and 'grey' imp)rts tend
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